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As Cora slept, she relived her mission. The mission that she would sooner forget then remember. The mission that everyone wanted to know about. The mission that threatened her life, then and now.

Byakuya had sent her away to eliminate hollows and she did just that, with a few cliffs and canyons along the way. Mainly with a certain human boy named Ezekiel, who had risked his life for hers more than once. He was a naïve boy, seventeen years old, with white blond hair and electric blue eyes. He reminded Cora of an angel. He was sweet and believed everyone had a good side, even the Hollows. He had glimpsed a Hollow on a few occasions as Cora searched and destroyed them. He had criticized Cora for killing them, but Cora had explained that she wasn't killing them. Not exactly anyway.

The Quincies were worse.

But Ezekiel wouldn't hear her, so he tagged along, trying to talk to the Hollows rationally, but to no avail. They always tried to kill him, causing Cora to save him and get hurt. But she always managed to kill the Hollow(s) and if she had a few deep or shallow scratches, she didn't mind. As long as Ezekiel was alive and she was away from the Soul Society, she was happy.

But then Ezekiel passed away and Cora was left alone. She felt empty, cold, abandoned.

She felt Hollow.

That was when she decided to return. There was no point in staying there. She had stayed too long anyway, for Ezekiel. But she stayed for another reason. A reason she was curious to know about more than anything.

She had stayed to keep a close watch on Rukia Kuchiki, adopted sister of her captain Byakuya Kuchiki.

Cora was very interested in Rukia's appearance, but she was too wrapped up in her own secrets to bother asking the girl. But she watched her, like a concerned hawk, before Ezekiel's passing. She still knew nothing of his death, but she knew it would come back to haunt her. Her mind was fickle, constantly changing the subject important, hiding things until there was a need to resurface. Cora was afraid of her own mind at some points, afraid that it would unknowingly tell her secrets.

Cora's body felt cold on the inside.

'Am I dying?' she thought as the cold, black ice engulfed her.

A soft chuckle echoed through her mind, sweet and caring. 'Dying? I thought my Cora was invincible.'

'Ezekiel?' Cora's heart raced, painfully fast in the icy cold state she was in. Why was her body so damn cold? She had only been this cold once, the day after Ezekiel died. Cora had been numb that day and the days following. She was still numb, but her anger and recent sexual experience made her feel it less. Her numbness was probably returning, as if it had fallen asleep like a leg or an arm. It hurt; hurt as if it were the first time she was becoming numb. Cora winced as she lifted herself up by her skinny arms. Mist shrouded the ground up to her knees, an eerie contrast to the black, cold sheet of ice surrounding her.

'Where am I?' she thought, looking around.

'This, my dear, is your inner self,' Ezekiel responded, coming into form next to her as if created by mist.

Cora gasped softly, but said nothing. He was dead. Gone. Not alive. There was no way she was going to let herself become sentimental just because her mind created him.

'So cold,' he said, his eyes piercing her.

'Why am I here?'

'Simply to show you how much you've closed yourself since my death.'

'Well, good,' Cora responded curtly, 'I won't be able to get hurt with a sheet of ice this thick and cold surrounding my heart.'

'Are you hurt that badly? Why? I did nothing intentionally to hurt you, so why feel so numb and cold because of me?'

'People always leave, no matter if they want to or not. I learned that with you, Ezekiel. Better to protect myself before it is too late. Besides, tough times are coming ahead. I need to be focused on the priority, not affection.'

He tilted his head. For her mind's image, he was as real as he could get. 'Is that you consider us? Just affection? I thought we had more than that.'

'We did,' Cora said, looking him straight in the eye, 'but you're dead. There is no more us. No more love. Just affection.'

'I see,' he responded, his voice cold. He circled her, his mouth coming close to her ear. 'You know what you are, Cora?'

Cora's body stiffened.

'You're the very thing you kill. The very beings you're content on destroying.'

Cora's eyes widened as Ezekiel kissed her cheek, his lips warmer than her own skin. Cora was the one alive. Ezekiel was dead. He was the cold one. Not her.

'You, Cora, are Hollow.'

Cora whirled around, slicing her zanpaktou through his neck, misty red blood flying through the air.

Ezekiel smiled. 'You attacked me with no hesitation. Me, the man you professed you loved-'

'That was before you died,' Cora snapped.

'So once a loved one dies, you no longer love them? Don't you see, Cora, you've become Hollow, just like those you kill.'

'No!' Cora shouted, shaking her head. 'I'm not a Hollow. There's a difference. A big difference!'

Ezekiel smirked. 'Like?'

But Cora didn't answer. She couldn't answer as her eyes opened as bright, natural light stung her eyes. She moaned, blinked a few times, and moaned again as the sun still stung.

"So glad you're awake." Gin Ichimaru's voice slithered over her ears, making her body instantly alert and prepared.

'No,' she told herself as she stared up at the ceiling, calming herself down. But she wasn't as angry as before. Oh sure, Gin still made her tense. She didn't trust him. That was it, but her anger wasn't escalating as before. In fact, her anger wasn't even high. It was low, as if she had never attacked him in the first place. She wondered what was going on with her emotions if she was so numb. 'Or Hollow as Ezekiel called me,' she thought bitterly.

"Captain Ichimaru," Cora said slowly.

"Did you need something, Gin?"

Cora's heart fluttered as Toushiro Hitsugaya came in and stood next to her. Was he here to protect her? Did he trust Gin like Cora did, which was not at all? Were Toushiro and Cora more alike that Cora had originally thought?

Gin smiled wider at Hitsugaya. "Ah, Captain Hitsugaya. Shouldn't Cora be serving her punishment?"

Cora looked at Toushiro, confused for a moment. Punishment? What punishment? Why would Gin come and check to see either? Was Captain Hitsu apart of her punishment? Cora refrained from smiling at the thoughts that circled her mind.

"She will be, Gin," Toushiro replied, crossing his arms. "But there's been an interesting dilemma that had to be taken care of immediately. Captain Kuchiki has been informed as well as Captain Kurotshuchi, so there is no need to worry," he said before Gin could speak.

"Well, as long as she is fine…" Gin turned and left, leaving Cora and Toushiro alone with a smug grin on his face as he did so.


Hope you all enjoyed that! Questions? Comments? Please ask/say them! Thanks again!